We too made new years resolutions, but not to share with you: After we baked and ate the first 'oliebollen' (some sort of deep fried doughnuts we traditionally eat on New Years Eve here), we went outside and made a bonfire. And while the sun set behind the trees, we each burnt a selfwritten note with New Years resolutions. We then stared into the flames, and even my always noisy children became quiet.

When darkness really fell, the children looked in amazement at some small fireworks. And from now on we hope to see the days getting longer every day. We can't wait to start on the big and little plans for the new year that we made around the fire.